Front Burner Brands, The Melting Pot Put the Community First

Front Burner Brands, a restaurant management company affiliated with The Melting Pot Restaurants, Burger 21, and GrillSmith and headquartered in Tampa, Florida, is making ongoing support of the community a priority.

“Family and belonging is a vital company principle at Front Burner Brands,” says Bob Johnston, CEO of Front Burner Brands. “This principle guides us not just to care for our team members but for our community, as well.”

Team members at the Front Burner Brands Restaurant Support Center recently donated more than 1,000 school supplies to Tampa’s Metropolitan Ministries, which serves homeless and at-risk individuals in Tampa Bay.

The company has also worked with Metropolitan Ministries to provide jobs for residents who have graduated from the organization’s culinary training program.

This summer, Front Burner Brands also supported U.S. military troops, shipping supplies to members of the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army serving in Afghanistan alongside the brother of a Front Burner Brands team member.

Company-owned restaurants of Front Burner Brands affiliate concept The Melting Pot in the Tampa Bay area also supported this initiative, holding a summer supply drive that collected more than 250 quart-sized bags of items ranging from personal hygiene products to ramen noodles and candy to ship to the troops serving in Afghanistan.

Through its extensive family of restaurants, Front Burner Brands’ commitment to the community makes a significant impact across the country. The Melting Pot, Front Burner Brands’ flagship concept and the world’s largest fondue restaurant franchise, supports St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, as its national charity partner and has raised more than $6 million for the hospital since the partnership began in 2003.

The Melting Pot is currently seeking sponsors and players for the 3rd annual Meltin Pot Golf Classic to benefit St. Jude to be held on November 5 at Emerald Greens Golf Resort & Country Club in Tampa.

The 2011 golf tournament raised close to $45,000 for St. Jude. The Melting Pot’s goal is to raise $100,000 for St. Jude through sponsorships and players in the 2012 event.

Additionally, Front Burner Brands affiliate concept, GrillSmith, a refined-casual, chef-inspired restaurant concept that specializes in innovative and creative interpretations of classic American dishes with six locations in the Tampa Bay area, is committed to providing genuine hospitality to guests and giving back to the local community.

Key charitable initiatives include sponsorship of the JDRF Walk to Cure Diabetes in the Tampa Bay area each spring and an annual scholarship drive for the Calyx and Beau Schenecker Memorial Fund.

News and information presented in this release has not been corroborated by FSR, Food News Media, or Journalistic, Inc.